


That Last Yule

by KrysKrossZee



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Neo-Paganism, Paganism, Solstice, Traditions, Winter Solstice, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27804847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrysKrossZee/pseuds/KrysKrossZee
Summary: Peter might have chosen to spend his last Christmas at Hogwarts weigh his friends but that doesn't mean that he's going to forget about the traditions he's started with his mother.
Relationships: Peter Pettigrew & Emmeline Vance
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5
Collections: The Marauders Advent 2020





	That Last Yule

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts used-
> 
> Marauders Advent: Solstice. Peter Pettigrew.

Peter wouldn't have called himself crafty at all but there was something wrong about even thinking about using magic to make his Yule Wreath. He had made them by hand with his mother for as long as he could remember and even though the and the Marauders had all opted to spend their very last Christmas at Hogwarts, he wasn't going to break that tradition. In his opinion, it was even more of a reason to honour it. He knew that his mother would be carrying out the same traditions without him anyway.

He had, however, left the making of this wreath until Yule itself and he was now regretting that decision as he sat in the middle of the Gryffindor common room surrounded by greenery that he was pretty sure that he was allergic to. His skin was itching like mad, which he found himself hoping was down to the greenery itself and not a prank by his friends. He knew that they didn't understand what he was doing, but that was down to him not explaining his family's traditions, or even his family's beliefs.

Peter wanted to include them, but he also didn't want to bother them and with Remus preparing for a full moon, Sirius was totally preoccupied. And then there was James.. Peter didn't really know how to talk to James currently. Every waking moment of James' life seemed to be preoccupied with thoughts of Lily Evans, which he didn't hold back on sharing with his best friends every chance he got. Peter loved James, but every now and again he felt that a break from him was sorely needed.

Peter managed to finish making his wreath in time for lunch, but just before he was about to head out of the portrait hole, he decided to hang it above the fireplace which only reminded him that he had yet to find a log. He knew that he needed to find one before it got dark - or else the whole point of burning one over the course of the longest was moot.

He supposed that lunch would have to wait as he went to grab a jacket from his room. Winter in Scotland meant that it got dark pretty early so he knew that he didn't have time to wait so he headed out into the grounds. Peter kept his head down as he walked, hoping not to be stopped by any of his classmates. He didn't want to have to explain to anyone what it was that he was doing, but generally no-one bothered with him when he wasn't with the other Marauders. It was both his blessing and his curse.

Peter wasn't a huge fan of this time of year, though he wouldn't have said that he hated it either. The cold, especially the wet cold of the Highlands, stuck to his person whenever he was forced to go out into it and it lingered even after he went back inside. It was probably a good thing that he was going to be spending a good amount of time sitting in front of the fire that was going to help him welcome in winter.

He walked through the 'Forbidden' Forest for a while until he found a log that looked like it just might be big enough and heaved it into his arms. He knew that he could probably have used magic to help carry it back to the castle, especially when he took into account just how many stairs he was going to have to climb to get back up to his common room, but again it just didn't feel right to even consider using magic for this.

**

"Peter?"

A voice jolted Peter awake. He hadn't actually been sleeping, just dozing, or at least that was what he was telling himself as he gave the fire a prod with the poker before looking up to see who had come to see him.

The Vance girl was stood over him, her eyes flickering between Peter's face and the fire that mainly had his attention that evening. "I didn't see you at dinner." Her words surprised him. He wasn't at alk used to anyone noticing him, let alone noticing his absence. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, sure." He gave her a smile. He hadn't intended on skipping both lunch and dinner, it had just happened when he had gotten so invested in making sure that no-one interfered with his Yule Log. He hadn't seen any of his best friends all day either so he couldn't even ask them to keep an eye while he grabbed something quick to eat. He was trying not to be annoyed with his friends for not caring about where he had been hiding out, and keeping himself busy had helped with that.

"What you up to?" The girl asked as she sat down on the floor in front of the fire next to him.

Peter paused for a moment as he debated between telling her the whole truth about his Yule traditions, and only telling her about the Yule log itself. He wasn't really used to anyone wanting to know anything about himself, people tended not to really care about what he was up to and it was why he was able to get away with doing things like this completely under the radar.

"I'm burning a Yule log. For solstice." He wasn't entirely sure how much she even wanted to know about it, but he guessed he couldn't exactly complain about being ignored all the time if he was going to turn someone who actually wanted to know about what he was up to away. He liked Emmeline anyway. She was quiet and soft spoken, and also tended to actually focus on her school work rather than messing about with boys or pranks like his social circle mostly seemed to.

"That's tonight, huh?" Emmeline hummed, her head tilted to the side ever-so-slightly as she watched the flames dancing around in the fireplace. They were reflecting off her face in a way that made him smile. She was pretty, he supposed, but not as pretty as the fire itself.

"Yeah. It's the longest night. I'm gonna pull an all-nighter to keep the log burning. It's meant to ward off evil and I figure that we could use all the help that we can get." Peter said quietly, thinking of the war that was building around them. He had so far managed to avoid thinking about the real world that was waiting for them outside of the castle.

"Where are the others? Are they not joining you?" She asked as she turned her head slightly to face him.

Peter shook his head slightly. This was just for him. He could have invited them to join him, but at the same time he had just wanted something that was just his. "They're off doing their own things." He said with a small shrug. And this was his own thing. He was content to have Emmeline join him for a little while, but that was because she was quiet and wouldn't overshadow something that was important to him.


End file.
